TIP-OFF: The Boston University menâÂ?
TMs basketball team plays its home-opener against Big-10 foe University of Michigan on Tuesday night at 7:07 p.m. The Terriers (0-1) began the year with a hard-fought loss at top-ranked Duke, 64-47 on Nov. 14. Michigan began its 2005-06 season on with an 87-60 rout of Central Michigan before making the trip to Boston. BU finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 20-9 and advanced to the postseason NIT, where the Terriers were beaten by Georgetown in the first round. Michigan finished 13-18, including 4-12 in the Big-10, good for ninth place.
RADIO-TV COVERAGE: The BU-Michigan game will be broadcast in the New England area on NESN, with Eric Frede (play-by-play), Ronnie Perry (analysis) and Jayme Parker (sideline) providing the call. The game will also be aired locally on radio in two locations: WROL 950-AM, with Doug Brown and Billy Collins, and WTBU 89.3 FM with Brian Maurer and Seth Needle. Furthermore, the radio broadcasts can be accessed on the internet at http://www.bu.edu/athletics/fans/tv-radio-schedule.html and http://www.wtburadio.org.
BU LOOKING FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WIN OVER MAIZE AND BLUE: The Terriers look to continue their recent run of success against the Wolverines, this time on BUâÂ?TMs home floor. The Terriers recorded two of the bigger regular-season wins in program history the last two seasons, stunning Michigan in Ann Arbor, 63-52 a year ago and 61-60 in the 2003-04 season. BU has taken down another school from a power conference under Dennis Wolff, when the Terriers clobbered ACC member Florida State 84-69 in 2002. TuesdayâÂ?TMs contest is the final game in a three-game series between BU and Michigan, and the only one the Terriers are hosting.
AGGANIS ARENA: The Terriers will be playing their third game ever at the gleaming new Agganis Arena, which opened its doors last January to both the BU hockey team and the BU basketball team. The Terrier hoopsters christened the arena with a 61-55 victory over Vermont on Feb. 12, 2005, in front of a raucous crowd of 5,736. BU lost its other Agganis Arena date, 63-48 to Northeastern on Feb. 20, 2005. The Terriers will play four games at Agganis Arena this season (Rhode Island 11/29, Vermont 1/22, and Maine 1/29), and seven at their other home, Case Gymnasium. More on BUâÂ?TMs dual homes later in these notes.
THE COACHES: The Terriers are led by 12th year head coach Dennis Wolff (Connecticut âÂ?~78). Wolff is 192-134 (.589) in his career at BU, 222-152 (.594) in 14 years overall, including a 30-18 record in two seasons at Connecticut College. Wolff is the all-time leader in victories at BU, having surpassed Mike Jarvis (101) on Jan. 22, 2001. Wolff is a three-time America East Coach of the year (1997, 2003, 2004) and has twice been named both NABC District I and New England Coach of the Year (1997, 2004).
Under Wolff, BU has dominated in America East play, sporting a stout 124-67 (.649) mark, including 71-25 (.740) in home league contests. Wolff has led the Terriers to at least a share of four America East regular-season titles (1997, 2002, 2003, and 2004) and two America East Tournament championships (1997, 2002). BU has advanced to a pair of NCAA Tournaments under Wolff and has won 20 or more games on five occasions during his tenure.
WolffâÂ?TMs assistants are Orlando Vandross (America International âÂ?~92), Mike Winiecki (Richmond âÂ?~89) and Mike Costello (BU âÂ?~00).
Michigan is coached by Tommy Amaker (Duke âÂ?~87), who is 133-114 (.538) in eight seasons overall and 65-59 (.524) in four seasons at Michigan. Amaker led the Wolverines to the 2004 NIT Postseason championship and a 23-11 record.
TIES THAT BOND: BU opened the season against Duke and its storied program, and will face a product of that program in MichiganâÂ?TMs head coach, Tommy Amaker. As a player at Duke, Amaker led the Blue Devils to the 1986 Final Four and ranks 38th all-time with 1,168 career points. He began his coaching career under Mike Krzyzewski, where he was an assistant from 1988-97 and helped lead the Blue Devils to two national titles (1991 and 1992). To continue the ACC trend, Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff sat on the opposite sideline as Amaker for many years in ACC battles. Wolff spent eight years in the heart of ACC country as an assistant coach for Virginia and Wake Forest. From 1985-89, Wolff was an assistant for the Demon Deacons under Bob Staak, then re-appeared in the league at Virginia under Jeff Jones from 1990-94. Wolff helped the Cavaliers advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 1993 and win an NIT title in 1992. Wolff was hired at BU directly from Virginia. As an assistant at Wake Forest, WolffâÂ?TMs teams were 0-5 against Amaker the player and 1-4 against Amaker the assistant. While at Virginia, WolffâÂ?TMs teams were 5-4 against the Blue Devils with Amaker on their staff.
HOME OPENERS: BU is 41-11 in home openers since accurate record-keeping began in 1953-54. The Terriers are 6-5 in home lid-lifters under current head coach Dennis Wolff, however BU has lost two straight home-openers (Holy Cross in 2004 and 13th-ranked St. JosephâÂ?TMs in 2003). The TerriersâÂ?TM last home-opening win came against Columbia, Nov. 23, 2002, 66-37 in The Roof. BU won 10 straight home openers from 1965-74.
SERIES VS. MICHIGAN: Michigan owns a 3-2 series lead with all the games having been played since 1989. The Wolverines won in the initial meeting 73-65 at the Boston Garden on Nov. 27, 1989. Michigan also won in Ann Arbor 90-68 on Dec. 10, 1990, and 111-84 on Jan. 3, 1994. BU has won the last two meetings against the Wolverines, also in Ann Arbor, 61-60 on Dec. 30, 2003, and 63-52 on Dec. 14, 2004. Dennis Wolff is 2-0 against UM in his career.
RECAPPING RECENT BU-UM HISTORY: On Dec. 30, 2003, BU bounced the Wolverines 61-60, led by Ryan ButtâÂ?TMs 14 points and eight rebounds and Chaz CarrâÂ?TMs 13 points. BU trailed 38-34 at halftime but scored the first eight points following intermission to seize the lead. BU led 58-53 with five minutes remaining, however the Wolverines tied the game at 58-58 with 4:20 left. Carr and Rashad Bell hit three free throws to give the Terriers a 61-58 lead, but Michigan drew within one with a hoop with 1:23 remaining. BU would miss two free throws down the stretch and Michigan had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but Bernard RobinsonâÂ?TMs jumper clanged off the rim and the Terriers went home to celebrate the New Year with a win.
On Dec. 14, 2004, BU upset Michigan in Ann Arbor for the second straight year, 63-52. Carr had 16 points, including 14 in the second half, Bell added 14 and Matt Wolff (Walpole, Mass.) scored 11, including three huge three-pointers off the bench. BU led 30-22 but saw the Wolverines go on a 13-3 run to take a 35-33 lead midway through the second half. The Terriers regrouped and led 50-49 with just under four minutes remaining, and hit 9-10 free throws down the stretch to salt away the victory. At the point of that loss, Michigan had been 22-4 in its previous 26 home games - and half of the losses came to the Terriers.
BU vs. BIG 10: BU is 4-11 all-time against current Big-10 schools, with the breakdown as follows:
Michigan 2-3
Indiana 0-1
Iowa 0-3
Northwestern 0-1
Penn State 2-1
Purdue 0-2
Dennis Wolff is 2-1 against the Big-10, with the two wins over Michigan and a loss to Iowa in 2001-02.
PRIDE OF THE PROGRAM: ESPNU is conducting a âÂ?oePride of the ProgramâÂ?Â? series this season, in which significant moments of all 326 Division I college basketball teams will be featured over the course of the ESPN broadcast schedule. The TerriersâÂ?TM vignette will be aired on Wednesday, Nov. 23, during the 9 p.m. broadcast on ESPN2âÂ?TMs NIT semifinal game. BUâÂ?TMs featured memorable moment will be the 1983 ECAC North Atlantic Conference tournament championship game, in which the Terriers, in head coach Rick PitinoâÂ?TMs final season, defeated Holy Cross 63-62 to earn their first NCAA Tournament berth in 24 years.
DUKE RECAP: BU opened its 2005-06 season in the always daunting Cameron Indoor Stadium and gave top-ranked Duke all it could handle in a 64-47 loss in the first round of the Preseason NIT. The Terriers forced Duke to miss its first nine shots of the game, and held a 16-10 advantage nine minutes in. Duke did not take its first lead until 8:11 remained on the clock, but the Blue Devils went on a 30-10 run to end the half with a 40-26 edge.
BU refused to go away, however. The Terriers whittled the deficit to nine, 44-35 and had a chance to draw within six, but Corey HassanâÂ?TMs three-pointer rimmed out with 12:54 remaining. Duke proceeded to go on a 7-0 run to snuff BUâÂ?TMs threat and the Terriers were held at armâÂ?TMs reach the rest of the way. BU was led by freshman Ben Coblyn (Amherst, Mass.) who had nine points and senior Kevin Gardner (Palos Verdes, Calif.) who had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. BU shot 49% from the field, however the Terriers committed 26 turnovers.
DUKE NOTABLE:
- BUâÂ?TMs defensive effort was terrific, holding the potent Blue Devils to just 64 points. Duke scored fewer than that just six times in 33 games last season.
- The Terriers limited the Blue Devils to just 40% shooting for the game - including 29.2% (7-24) in the second half. BU forced Duke to miss 12 of its first 13 shots to start the game and the Blue Devils were just 1-10 from the field to begin the second half.
- Led by the sterling effort of senior Shaun Wynn (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Duke All-America candidate J.J. Redick was held without a three-pointer for just the fifth time in his 104-game career. Redick finished with 19 points, below his 2004-05 average of 21.8 ppg and was just 7-14 from the field.
- BU also shut down DukeâÂ?TMs All-American center, Shelden Williams, especially in the second half. Williams had 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, but the Terriers refused to let him be a presence in the second half, limiting him to just five more shots and four more points after intermission. Williams also grabbed just seven rebounds, well below his 2004-05 average of 11.5 rpg.
- For comparisonâÂ?TMs sake, while BU held Duke to 40% shooting and Redick without a three, in the Blue DevilsâÂ?TM next game against Seton Hall, they shot 64% (35-55) from the field, and Redick was 4-7 from downtown.
- The Terriers outrebounded the Blue Devils 33-27. BU was 13-4 last season when it outrebounded its opponent.
- BU went to the free-throw line just four times against the Blue Devils. It was BUâÂ?TMs fewest trips to the line since it shot four charity tosses Feb. 17, 2001, at Vermont. It was also the TerriersâÂ?TM fewest made free throws since they went 1-7 from the line against Columbia on Nov. 23, 2002.
- BU dropped to 4-7 in season-openers under Dennis Wolff. Of course the statistic is deceiving, as the losses have come against such foes as Duke, Stanford, UNC Charlotte and Connecticut.
- The Terriers played all 12 members on their roster, including six who saw the first Division I action of their careers.
- Three players made their first career starts in a Terrier uniform: junior Brian Macon (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and freshmen Ibrahim Konate (Bamako, Mali) and Corey Hassan (Merrimack, N.H.).
- Macon played admirably against the Duke pressure. He handed out four assists and grabbed three rebounds, as he ran the offense at point guard for 25 minutes.
âÂ?oeBACKâÂ?Â? IN THE SADDLE: It has been a long-time coming, but the Terriers finally got some healthy production out of big man Ben Coblyn. A promising post player coming out of Amherst Regional High School in 2004, Coblyn actually saw action as a true freshmen in the first two games of the season for BU last year. However his playing time and his mobility were severely limited by fused vertebrae in his lower back and he shut down for the season after playing in just three games for a total of 13 minutes. 2005-06 is a different story, however, as Coblyn is healthy and productive. Against Duke, he led BU with nine points and hit 4-7 from the floor. He played just 15 minutes, in part due to foul trouble, but he remained loose and showed no signs of being slowed by the back. In order to remain mobile, Coblyn lies on his back and stretches several times during practices and games with the help of Terrier trainer Scott Spak.
A HELPING HAND: Senior Shaun Wynn continues to get his teammates the ball in scoring opportunities. Wynn handed out a game-high six assists at Duke - the same amount as the entire Blue Devil team - and picked up where he left off in 2004-05. Last season, Wynn was fifth in the America East with 100 assists (3.4 apg) and he now has 218 for his career. Jeff Timberlake âÂ?~89 holds the school record with 772 dishes, but Wynn could climb into the top-10 with a solid year; Jim Schwartz âÂ?~97 currently is 10th all-time at BU with 332 assists.
A FAMILY AFFAIR: For BU head coach Dennis Wolff, the office can feel like home sometimes. His son, Matt, is a sophomore guard on the Terriers this season. Matt Wolff, who is 6-6 and played in every game as a freshman, is a solid defender who can light it up from the outside and creates match-up problems for opposing defenses. Matt played his high school ball at Walpole HS, where the family lives, where he averaged 19 ppg as a senior. The basketball connection for the Wolff family does not end with the father-son combo; Nicole Wolff, DennisâÂ?TM daughter and MattâÂ?TMs sister plays for the University of Connecticut as a junior guard. Dennis Wolff graduated from UConn in 1978, where he was a two-year letterwinner.
IN THE POLLS: BU has not received any votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches top-25 poll. The Terriers have scheduled four opponents who appear in the rankings: Number-one Duke (BUâÂ?TMs opponent on 11/14) and no. 24 George Washington (12/2) are ranked. Michigan (11/22) received 35 votes to unofficially be ranked 33rd, while Bucknell (12/28) received one vote, unofficially checking in at no. 51.
COUNTDOWN TO 200: Dennis Wolff is just eight wins shy of his 200th win at BU. Wolff is 192-134 in 12 seasons on the Terrier bench and is already the schoolâÂ?TMs all-time leader in victories. Wolff won his first game at BU in his debut, an 80-78 victory over Rider on Nov. 25, 1994. It took Wolff 80 games to reach the 50-win mark, 108 games to go from 50 to 100, and 83 games to go from 100 to 150. BU is 42-13 since Wolff won his 150th game.
Dennis Wolff: DEAN OF AMERICA EAST COACHES: With the retirement of VermontâÂ?TMs Tom Brennan at the end of last season, Dennis Wolff is now the elder statesman among America East coaches. Wolff is entering his 12th season on the bench, and no other leading man in the conference has coached at his current school for more than five years. Brennan had been at Vermont for 20 years. WolffâÂ?TMs 192 wins at BU are more than the coaches at the other eight schools in the America East combined (174). In terms of total years coached among league mentors, WolffâÂ?TMs 13 total years of experience trails New HampshireâÂ?TMs Bill Herrion (18), BinghamtonâÂ?TMs Al Walker (17) and UMBCâÂ?TMs Randy Monroe (14).
BU ON TV: The Terriers will make a minimum of seven television appearances in 2005-06. BU begins the season at Duke on ESPN2 in the preseason NIT. The Terriers will then play all four of their home games at Agganis Arena (Michigan, 11/22; Rhode Island, 11/29; Vermont, 1/22; Maine, 1/29) on the New England Sports Network (NESN) as part of a university package with the station. Eric Frede will provide play-by-play for those games, with Ronny Perry handling analysis. Finally, as part of the America East package, the Terriers will be televised at Albany (2/4) and at Vermont (2/23). Those games will air on NESN as well.
SPECIAL GUESTS HIGHLIGHT RADIO BROADCASTS: BU alum Doug Brown returns to the microphone to broadcast Terrier basketball over the airwaves this season. A collection of former Terrier players and former rival coaches will aid Brown in providing color analysis.
Former forward Billy Collins (2000-2003) will serve as the color commentator in the majority of the broadcasts. Collins will anchor Brown in all 11 home games, as well as select road contests. Collins was a two-year starter and three-year captain for BU and averaged 10.3 ppg in 74 career games in the Scarlet and White. Former Vermont head coach Tom Brennan, who led the Catamounts to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005 before retiring in the off-season, will work games at Duke (11/14) and at Binghamton (2/14). Dave Wallace (1992-95), who was captain of Dennis WolffâÂ?TMs first team at BU, will work the games at George Washington (12/2) and at UMBC (1/5). BU Hall-of-Famer Drederick Irving (1984-88), who is second in Terrier history with 1,931 points, will work the Rider game (11/26). Jim Schwartz (1994-97), who was a captain on the Terriers 1997 America East championship team, will work at Stony Brook (1/19), and former Boston College and Ohio State head coach Jim OâÂ?TMBrien will call games at Canisius (1/22) and at the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara (12/28-29).
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: Despite losing its top three leading scorers from a team that went 20-9 and advanced to the NIT a year ago, the Terriers were chosen to finish second in the America East Preseason CoachesâÂ?TM Poll. BU garnered 52 total points, including three first place votes, to finish behind Albany and just ahead of Maine. This marks the third straight season BU has been the coachesâÂ?TM choice to finish second. The Terriers were picked to win the conference in 2002-03. BU won the league crown in 2002-04 and finished third in 2005.
Preseason CoachesâÂ?TM Poll
Rank) Team - Points (First-Place Votes)
1) Albany - 61 (5)
2) Boston U. - 52 (3)
3) Maine - 46 (1)
4) Binghamton - 43
5) Hartford - 41
6) Vermont - 31
7) Stony Brook - 21
8) UMBC - 15
9) New Hampshire - 14
WYNN PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: Senior guard Shaun Wynn (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was tabbed by league coaches as a preseason all-conference selection. Wynn led the Terriers with 3.4 assists per game in 2004-05 and his 2.27-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was the seventh-best in school history. Wynn was the 2003-04 America East Defensive Player of the Year.
Preseason All-Conference Team
Lucious Jordan, Albany
Jamar Wilson, Albany
Andre Heard, Binghamton
Shaun Wynn, Boston U.
Kevin Reed, Maine
FOUR INCREDIBLE YEARS: The BU basketball program has flourished in the last four seasons under head coach Dennis Wolff, accomplishing things never seen before in the programâÂ?TMs 103-year history. BU went 20-9 in 2004-05, the TerriersâÂ?TM fourth consecutive 20-win season. BU went 22-10 in 2001-02, 20-11 in 2002-03 and 23-6 in 2003-04. The 85 wins are the most in any four-year period in program history. Prior to 2001-02, BU basketball had achieved 20 or more wins just seven times in 92 seasons of competition. The Terriers also earned an invitation to the 2005 postseason NIT, marking the fourth consecutive season the school participated in postseason play. BU earned an NCAA Tournament bid in 2001-02, and has been to the NIT three straight years. Prior to 2001-02, BU basketball had made seven postseason appearances: NCAA in 1959, 1983, 1988, 1990 and 1997, and NIT in 1980 and 1986.
BU LEADS NATION IN FG PCT DEFENSE IN 04-05: A major reason for BUâÂ?TMs success last season was its ability to gum up opposing offenses. BU led the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing foes to shoot just 37.1% from the floor. The Terriers also held opponents to just 55.7 ppg, the third-lowest total in the country. BU allowed 59 points or less in 18 of 29 games last year, and the Terriers were 16-2 in those contests. The Terriers completely neutralized Hartford on Jan. 6, holding the Hawks to just 22 points in a 73-22 victory; it was the lowest point total scored by a Terrier opponent in 64 years.
TOP THREE SCORERS DEPART: The Terriers lost 59% of their scoring output from last year with the graduation of Rashad Bell and Chaz Carr and the transfer to UMass of Etienne Brower. Bell led the team with 15.6 ppg and finished his career ninth all-time in scoring at BU with 1,367 points. Carr averaged 13.1 ppg and was eighth all-time in scoring with 1,406 points. Brower averaged 8.3 ppg. At least one member of the trio led the Terriers in scoring in 26 of 29 games.
DUAL HOMES OF BU BASKETBALL: BU will split its home games this season, playing four contests at the sparkling new Agganis Arena, which opened in January 2005, and seven games at its traditional home, Case Gymnasium, otherwise known as âÂ?oeThe Roof.âÂ?Â? The games at Agganis Arena feature some of the heavyweights on BUâÂ?TMs schedule, as the Terriers host Michigan (11/22), Rhode Island (11/29), Vermont (1/22) and Maine (1/29). The Maine contest will be the nightcap of a doubleheader with the womenâÂ?TMs team. Agganis Arena seats 7,200 and was christened in basketball last season when the Terriers upset Vermont 61-55. Agganis Arena is the permanent home of BU menâÂ?TMs hockey and the facility will host the early rounds of the 2007 America East MenâÂ?TMs Basketball Championships.
BU has played at The Roof since 1972-73, compiling an extraordinary 180-74 (.709) record there. Dennis Wolff-coached teams have been even better, running up a 94-32 (.746) mark at Case since his arrival in 1994-95. BU has a current nine-game home win streak at The Roof and is 39-8 (.830) there since the beginning of 2001-02.
A LITTLE GREEN: The 2005-06 edition of BU basketball ranks among the youngest in the America East. The 12 players on the active roster have combined to start 90 games in their college careers - 89 of which have come from two players. Seniors Shaun Wynn and Kevin Gardner have combined for 167 games played and 89 starts, leaving the other 11 Terriers with 106 games played and one start (Matt Wolff, last season) between them. Only Vermont has a more inexperienced team, as the Catamounts lost four starters who helped lead them to three straight NCAA Tournament berths. A look at the leagueâÂ?TMs experience coming in to 2005-06:
School Games Started Games Played
Vermont 40 177
BU 90 273
UMBC 119 289
New Hampshire 126 228
Maine 133 292
Binghamton 155 283
Stony Brook 169 299
Albany 247 396
Hartford 271 449
In terms of total games played on the current roster, this is not the youngest BU team in Dennis WolffâÂ?TMs 12 years. The 1999-2000 Terriers combined for just 231 career games played heading into the season.
WYNN IN THE RECORD BOOKS: After WynnâÂ?TMs lethally efficient season last year, in which he handed out 100 assists and recorded 53 steals while only committing 44 turnovers, the senior guard has an opportunity to leave his mark in the Terrier record books. Wynn has 125 career steals, just seven shy of cracking the top-10 all-time at BU. Shawn Teague holds the school mark with 201 thefts, but a comparable season to 2004-05 could move Wynn as high as fourth. Wynn also has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.86, the fifth-best in school annals. Jeff Timberlake (âÂ?~89) is tops on the list at 2.24.
ELITE COMPANY: BU has won 20+ games in each of the last four seasons. The Terriers are one of just 23 Division-I programs in the nation that can boast such a streak: BU, Vermont, Wake Forest, Duke, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Illinois, Utah State, Memphis, Kent State, Southern Illinois, Creighton, Utah, Arizona, Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi State and Gonzaga.
MORRIS OUT FOR THE SEASON: Freshman guard Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind.) will miss the entire season after tearing several ligaments in his foot in preseason practice. Morris, who was expected to contend for playing time in the backcourt, landed on a teammateâÂ?TMs foot less than two weeks into practice, and underwent surgery on November 7 to repair the ligaments. Morris will redshirt this season and return for his freshman year of eligibility in 2006-07.
MACON: A RARE JUCO FIND FOR BU: Guard Brian Macon becomes just the second junior college transfer to suit up for the Terriers in Dennis WolffâÂ?TMs 12 seasons. Macon comes to BU from Miami Dade College, where he averaged 10.1 ppg and 7.1 apg for a SharksâÂ?TM team that went 27-5 and won the Southern Conference. Stijn Dhondt (2001-02) is the only other juco player in the Dennis Wolff era.
NOT AFRAID TO PLAY THE BIG BOYS: A staple of the Terriers under Dennis Wolff has been their willingness to play anyone, anytime, anywhere. A look at some of the major programs BU has gone up against in the regular season in WolffâÂ?TMs first 11 years: Providence, Kentucky, Duke, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Carolina State, George Washington, Rhode Island, TCU, Connecticut, Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, California, Iowa, Boston College, Stanford, Florida State, Arizona, St. JosephâÂ?TMs and Michigan. Some of the most significant wins in school history have come against this list, including back-to-back victories at Michigan (2003 and 2004) and a 15-point win over Florida State in 2002.
